The Attorney General of Texas
September lo,1981 :
MARK WHITE
Attorney General
Mr. Jackie L. Vaughan Opinion No. MW-365
Executive Director
Texas Amusement Machine Commission Re: Per diem of commissioners
1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 108E of Texas Amusement Machine
Austin, Texas 78723 Commission
Dear Mr. Vaughan:
Article 4413(41), V.T.C.S., established the Texas Amusement
Machine Commission. Section 4 of that article previously provided
that:
All members of the Commission shall be compensated
in an amount of Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00) per
day for each day they are actually engaged in
performing their duties whether or not in
attendance at a meeting; provided, however, they
shall not draw compensation for mcwe than sixty
(60) days in any one fiscal year. In addition to
the per diem provided for herein, members of the
Commission shall be reimbursed for their actual
and necessary traveling expenses in the
performance of their duties.
Senate Bill No. 486, which became effective September 1, 1981,
amended section 4 to provide as follows:
All members of the Commission shall be entitled to
a per diem as set by legislative appropriation for
each day they are actually engaged in performing
their duties whether or not in attendance at a
meeting; provided, however, they shall not draw
compensation for more than sixty (60) days in any
one fiscal year. A member may not receive any
compensation for travel expenses, including
expenses for DX?dS and lodging, other than
transportation expenses. A member is entitled to
compensation for transportation expenses as
prescribed by the General Appropriations Act.
p. 1220
Jackir I.. Vaughn - Page 2 (~~-365)
With respect to the Texas Amusement Machine Commission, the
General Appropriations Act, House Bill No. 656, provides in pertinent
part that:
The per diem for board members shall be actual
expenses for meals and lodging plus an additional
$75 for each day the member is engaged in official
business of the Commission....
You are concerned about the conflict between section 4, as
amended, and the foregoing provision of the General Appropriations
Act. You ask:
Are the Commissioners of the Texas Amusement
Machine Commission only entitled to per diem and
transportation expenses as stated in Senate Bill
486, or are they entitled to actual expenses for
meals and lodging plus per diem as stated in the
General Appropriations Act?
The legislative history of Senate Bill No. 486 indicates that no
conflict with the General Appropriations Act would have arisen if the
bill had been enacted in its original form. The original version of
the bill amended section 4 to provide that commissioners shall be
entitled to a per diem as set by the legislature rather than be
compensated at the rate of $35 per day, but it left the language
regarding reimbursement for commissioners' "actual and necessary
traveling expensefillintact. The bill went through several changes,
however, and the final version substituted the language that created
the present conflict.
General legislation cannot be enacted in an appropriations bill.
Moore V. Sheppard, 192 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1946); Linden v. Finley, 49
S.W. 578 (Tex. 1899); Attorney General Opinions MW-340 (1981); H-268
(1974); M-1199 (1972). The general rules applicable in this area were
stated in Attorney General Opinion M-1199, supra:
An appropriation bill may detail, limit or
restrict the use of funds therein appropriated or
otherwise insure that the appropriated money will
be spent for the purpose intended....A rider
attached to the general appropriation bill cannot
repeal, modify or amend an existing general
law.... If a bill does more than set aside a sum of
money, provide the means of its distribution, and
to whom it shall be distributed, then it is a
general law.,.. The distinction between a general
appropriation bill and general legislation has
been recognized in this state in the simple fact
that the former merely sets apart sums of money
for specific objectives and uses while the latter
p. 1221
Jackie L. Vaughn - Page 3 (MW-365)
does more than merely appropriate and limit the
use of funds.
When tested under these rules, the General Appropriations Act
provision can only be regarded as "general legislation" to the extent
that it purports to authorize the payment of expenses which Senate
Bill No. 486 expressly forbids, i.e., expenses for meals aud lodging.
Insofar as the bill and the General Appropriations Act provision
cannot be reconciled, the former must automatically be deemed
controlling. This is not an instance involving a conflict between two
pieces of legislation standing on equal footing.
We therefore conclude that the commissioners of the Texas
Amusement Machine Commission are governed by Senate Bill No. 486.
Accordingly, they are entitled to the $75 per day (not to exceed 60
days in any one fiscal year) prescribed by the General Appropriations
Act plus compensation for transportation expenses as prescribed
therein.
SUMMARY
Pursuant to Senate Bill No. 486, the
commissioners of the Texas Amusement Machine
Commission are entitled to the $75 per day
prescribed by the General Appropriations Act plus
compensation for transportation expenses as
prescribed therein.
MARK WHITE
Attorney General of Texas
JOHN W. FAINTER, JR.
First Assistant Attorney General
RICHARD E. GRAY III
Executive Assistant Attorney General
Prepared by Jon Bible
Assistant Attorney General
p. 1222
I..Vnughn - Page 4 (MW-365)
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APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
Susan L. Garrison, Chairman
Jon Bible
Bill Campbell
Rick Gilpin
Jim Moellinger
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